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Baird wins as Davison and Koundouris take round victory

Craig Baird has taken victory in the final Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia race at the season-opening Clipsal 500, with Alex Davison and James Koundouris securing the round victory.

Baird’s Adelaide round started in unfortunately circumstances, suffering a punctured tyre in the opening race and ultimately finishing seventh. The New Zealander then fought back to second position in Race 2, placing him on the front row of the grid alongside Alex Davison for the start of Sunday’s Race 3.

Baird then led from the start of Race 3 and ultimately claimed victory ahead of Davison and Matt Kingsley, who fought his way back through the field during the Adelaide round after failing to finish Friday’s opening race.

Steven Richards finished the race in fourth after starting from the rear of the field, with Daniel Gaunt and Tom Tweedie finishing in fifth and sixth, respectively.

“It was really nice finishing the round with a race win in the Elite Class. It does a lot for your confidence entering the Melbourne round,” said Twigg.
Baird not only won the final race for the round, but also eclipsed the lap record set by Davison the day before, and now predicts a highly competitive championship fight for the rest of the 2012 season.

“It’s obviously going to be a tough season. I’ve been getting plenty of text messages from the V8 Supercar drivers, as has Alex, who are expecting a big battle throughout the year between us,” said Baird.

Meanwhile, Davison was delighted with the round win having returned to Carrera Cup after a stint in V8 Supercars, finishing ahead of Baird and Gaunt in the final round points.

“I’ve really enjoyed the weekend. It’s been great just going racing without all the distractions. I’ve recently been flat out trying to get this deal together, which we only got sorted in the week before the first race, so it’s good to put all that behind me and focus on car racing,” said Davison.

“I knew how I needed to drive the car, but it was actually quite difficult putting that into practise. I had a recent test at Queensland Raceway which was a big help, and basically every time I went onto the circuit this weekend I’ve been fine-tuning my technique and finding out what I needed to do to go quicker.”

Koundouris won the round in the Elite Class ahead of Twigg, Bates and Shane Smollen, Nathan Tinkler, Paul Kelly and Marc Cini.

Steven Richards was the recipient of the Mobil 1 Hard Charger Award, handed to the driver who gains the most positions in all races throughout the round.

The next round of the 2012 Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia season will be held at Albert Park, Melbourne, at the Formula 1™ Qantas Australian Grand Prix.Broadcast schedule – Clipsal 500 post-produced episode
Date: Saturday March 24
Time: 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Channel: 7mate
Times subject to change – please check local guides.